Author: Melissa Fare, Vanuatu Cricket Association
The opening championship of the Women’s Island Cricket competition this year took place last month featuring mamas from Ifira, Eratap, Beverly Hills, Blacksands, and Imaki. The competition was played in a round robin format with the top two teams at the end of round matches progressing into the grand final. The opening championship is an annual competition with the aim to get the women involved in the Women's Island Cricket Program back into physical activities and to start another year of staying fit and healthy through cricket. This competition is an initiative taken by the Vanuatu cricket Association and funded by the Australian Government through the Pacific Sports Partnership Program (PSP) with the purpose to get women involved in sports to keep them healthy and physically fit. On Thursday the 15th of May, Blacksands took on Beverly Hills in the 3rd place play off place at Independence Park. Blacksands won the toss and elected to field first in the tough contest which saw some outstanding cricket from both teams. However, Blacksands managed a 5 runs victory against Beverly Hills to claim 3rd place. The biggest match of the day, the mamas in green and yellow island dresses (Ifira) took on the mamas in white and purple (Eratap) for the championship title. As per the usual, the match was filled with vibrant smiles, echoing laughter, feistiness, and competitive cricket from both teams. Eratap won the toss and elected to field first. The match was a game of wits with both teams outsmarting the other during the match resulting in a tie at the end of the match which called for a super over. The defending champions, Ifira, called on their championship spirit at the last minute to put on a show stopping performance in the super over to defeat their tough opponents, Eratap, by just one run. Ifira’s Hellen Ishmael’s 44 runs knock was the standout performance from the afternoon and earned her the player of the match award. -END-